When a bit of cranium turned up along the Whitewater River in central Indiana, it was certainly not your average find. Fayette County Coroner Eddie Richardson reported that this piece of skull, discovered by a local and dutifully reported in June, is about 4,270 years old according to preliminary analysis, per a story released by NBC Chicago. That's right, the remains date back to approximately 2300 B.C., which is roughly the same vintage as some of the rings inside the great Sequoias — ancient indeed.
The confirmation process included not solely relying on the University of Indianapolis Human Identification Center but also "rigorous testing" completed by the University of Georgia. The results got pinned down after the coroner's office received the green light from the County Council to get their Carbon-14 dating game on, as explained by NBC Chicago. The test outcomes from a sample sent to Dr. Alexander Cherkinsky at the Center for Applied Isotope Studies came in September. The ancient age of the skull has the local community to retrospectively gaze into a history stretching beyond the millennia.
In a nod to the day's significance, the coroner's office called the find a "moment for respect and heritage" on Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day. "Today, as we observe Indigenous Peoples' Day, we honor the history, cultures and the enduring presence of Native American people. This remarkable discovery is a powerful and humbling reminder that people have walked this land, our home in Fayette County, for millennia. It calls upon all of us to handle this matter with the utmost respect and diligence," Richardson stated in a social media post that was reported by WGN-TV. Clearly, this calls for both reverence and deliberate caution in dealing with a discovery that tells of a history most don't often consider in their day-to-day.
The coroner's office is looking forward to working closely with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to ensure that the repatriation and site management to honorably follow through with cultural and legal standards, according to statements obtained by WGN-TV. With finds like these, taking any action comes with its own set of challenges and obligations that need to be navigated with sensitivity and precision — archaeology is no small feat, and the repatriation of artifacts has become an increasingly important part of the process.
